Why Circular Economy?
- Circular Economy can generate US$ 1 Trillion Annually by 2025 (Accenture, 2014)
- To decouple growth with carbon emissions and resource (material and energy) usage
- Valuing Nature – Estimated 36 trillion dollars worth of eco-system services annually (TEEB study, 2009)
- World currently uses 1.5 planets’ worth of resources every year including forests, land, metals and minerals while generating mountains of waste (Global Footprint Network, 2015)
Circular Economy Strategies
Remanufacturing
To bring a product back to its original specifications/’like-new’ condition with a warranty to match. 50-70% reduced environmental impact. 30-40% reduced making cost and for the customer. Salvages the embodied energy and materials
Recycling
Most energy intensive process to recover valuable materials. Mostly driven by legislations and value of the recovered material
Repurposing
Repurposing a product to create a new product for secondary applications. Reuses most of the material with additional inputs. Market driven. Example: repurposing Electric Vehicle batteries to be used as Energy Storage Systems to power a building.
Linking Sustainability 